PS2 Prices Expected to Drop below $99 in April Page: 1PS2 Prices Expected to Drop below $99 in April

Come April, the price of Sony’s highly popular PlayStation 2 (PS2) is likely to drop below the $100 mark. According to images leaked on the internet from retailers, the system might be available for $99.99 from 5 April.

Launched in 2000, the PS2 from Sony has gone on to become one of the most popular gaming stations. Prices for the system have never dropped below $100 in the years since its launch, but new images on the internet suggest that this might happen next month. 5 April is the start of the first full week in Sony’s new fiscal year; it is also the start of NPD’s tracking period for April and the launch of the company’s DSi.

The new expected price is nearly 25% lower than the current retail price of $130 for the PS2 and has raised expectations of a similar price drop for the PS3 later in the fiscal year. It might also signal Sony’s plans to cut PS2 production soon. According to December 2008 figures, Sony has shipped 136.8 million PS2 units to retailers worldwide.

Sales of the PS2 to stores however remained flat for the final quarter of 2008 at 2.5 million, same as that recorded during the third quarter of 2008. Sony expects to clear store inventories and sell around 2 million PS2 units in the US in 2009 through the price drop. This should allow the company to reduce PS2 production and focus on developing its video game markets in other parts of the world.